A Senior Public Mental Health Officer at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Mavis Asantewaa Opoku, has called on the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the government to redesign examination systems to better accommodate students living with special needs and neurodevelopmental conditions.
According to her, students with intellectual and learning disabilities are often disadvantaged by the current examination structure because they are made to write the same examination papers as other students despite their unique educational challenges.
Madam Opoku, who is also the Executive Director of the Robb Foundation, made the appeal while speaking to the media during the Mental Health Forum 2026 held in Accra.
She said although some accommodations such as extra time and oral examinations are provided for candidates with special needs during the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), the measures are still inadequate because the students continue to answer the same questions as mainstream candidates.
According to her, advocacy efforts by stakeholders and caregivers had previously enabled some children with special needs to sit for examinations, with support systems put in place to motivate them.
“There was a huge problem because we had to advocate for some of the children to even write the exams. In some cases, we had to provide breakfast at specific centres just to encourage some of them to participate,” she disclosed.
However, she questioned why examination authorities have not considered setting separate or modified questions tailored to the capacities of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“This is a child with intellectual disability, a child with learning disability or neurodevelopmental challenges, yet they are still writing the same subjects and same questions everybody else writes,” she stated.
Madam Opoku argued that the current system limits the educational progression of many children with special needs because failure to obtain good grades in the BECE effectively shuts them out of secondary and tertiary education.
“If you do not have the Basic Education Certificate Examination qualification, in no circumstance can you continue to secondary school or even the university. It means that as a parent, the best option left for your child is vocational training or learning a trade,” she said.
While stressing that vocational education remains valuable, she insisted that children with special needs should also be given equal opportunities to pursue higher education if they are capable.
“We are not saying vocational training is bad, but in other countries, people with autism and Down syndrome are in universities because they are taken into consideration when it comes to examinations.In our case, it is different,” she lamented.
She therefore appealed to the Ghana Education Service, WAEC, and government to review assessment systems for learners with disabilities and tailor examination questions to suit the cognitive abilities and educational capacities of such students.
“If authorities can look at the condition of the child and set questions based on the child’s capacity, it will help more than simply giving extra time or oral examinations while they still answer the same questions,” she added.
Madam Opoku also expressed concern over what she described as the scarcity of schools equipped to provide inclusive education for children with special needs in Ghana.
According to her, although the country has adopted inclusive education policies, many schools still lack trained personnel and facilities to support children living with disabilities and learning challenges.
“It is very scarce. You send the child to school and there are no resource personnel to attend to the child,” she said.
She revealed that despite the large number of government schools in the Greater Accra Region, only a handful are properly implementing inclusive education.
“Accra alone has over 100 government schools, but only about five are properly practicing inclusive education,” she stated.
Madam Opoku explained that this situation forces some parents to travel long distances daily in search of schools that can accommodate their children.
“You may live at Dakuman, but the nearest school practicing inclusive education could be far away in another part of Accra. Meanwhile, there are government schools within the community that should be able to support these children,” she noted.
She further observed that while some private schools offer better inclusive education services, the cost is often beyond the reach of many families because such programmes are not heavily subsidised.
“The private schools are doing well, but it is expensive because it is not government-funded. Inclusive education must be expanded to every school so that children with special needs can also access quality education,” she urged.
The Mental Health Forum 2026 brought together mental health professionals, educators, caregivers, advocates, and stakeholders to discuss challenges affecting persons living with mental health conditions and disabilities in Ghana.
By 1960news.com
